Terms & Conditions - Gravesend Travels

YOUR CONTRACT - PLEASE READ THIS CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU BOOK

Introduction

We set out below all the terms which apply to bookings which you ask us, Gravesend Travel and Tourism Ltd, to process for your travel requirements. You should study them carefully.

These booking terms and conditions govern all bookings that you make with Gravesend Travel and Tourism Ltd, 42 Wrotham Road, Gravesend Kent, DA11 0QF. They vary depending on whether you make a booking with us for a package holiday, flight only, accommodation only or other separate travel arrangements, ("Individual Components"). If you book Individual Components with us, we will make the booking as agent for the relevant supplier(s) (e.g. the airline or hotel supplier) and your contract will be subject to the supplier's own terms and conditions which could limit or exclude liability to you, often in accordance with international conventions. If you book a package holiday, your contract will be with Gravesend Travels Limited unless otherwise advised at the time of confirmation. Please see the terms which apply to package holiday contracts which follow these website terms and conditions.

No contract will come into existence between us until we accept your booking and we receive your deposit or full payment in cleared funds and we have issued our Confirmation invoice. We reserve the right to refuse, at our sole discretion, any booking. For online bookings, the contract will come into existence when we issue the invoice for your booking.

When you make a booking, you warrant and confirm that:

You are over the age of 18 years and

Have the capacity and authority to accept, and

Do accept these conditions on your behalf and on behalf of all members of your party and

If you are making a booking for more than one person, that you are responsible for all payments due from each and every party member for whom you are making a booking.

The meaning of the words used in these booking conditions

In these Booking Conditions, the following words have the following meanings:

"ATOL" means the Air Travel Organisers Licence issued by the Civil Aviation Authority of which Gravesend Travel and Tourism Ltd is a holder - licence number : 10987

Our Data Protection Policy

We collect personal data such as your name, address and email address only when you use our website to send us an enquiry, order a brochure, register with us for competitions, promotions or purchase a flight or holiday from us. We will use that information to respond to your message and to help us get you the information or services you have requested.

In addition, in order to process your booking requests and to ensure that your travel arrangements run smoothly and meet your requirements, we and the companies that we work with need to use the information you provide such as name, address, any special needs/dietary requirements etc.

We take full responsibility for ensuring that proper security measures are in place to protect your information. Where relevant, we have to pass information on to the relevant suppliers of your travel arrangements such as airlines, hotels, transport companies and others. The information may also be provided to security or credit checking companies, public authorities such as customs/immigration if required by them, or as required by law.

Additionally, where your holiday is outside the European Economic Area (EEA), controls on data protection in your destination may not be as strong as the legal requirements in this country As a result, we will only pass information to the people and organisations who are responsible for part or all of your holiday arrangements .This policy applies to all information we have including any sensitive information that you give to us such as details of any disabilities, or dietary/religious requirements.

In making this booking, you consent to this information being passed on to the relevant companies and persons. You must tell us if you do not want us to pass on your information but in that case, whether your holiday is inside or outside the EEA, we may not be able to complete your booking.

Booking Your Travel Arrangements

When you make a booking with us by Telephone or Online, you must provide us with all of the information which we require. You must also ensure that the credit or debit card you are using is your own (or, subject to our agreement, if it is a third party's you have their express authorization to use their credit or debit card) and that sufficient funds are available to cover the cost of the arrangements which you book with us.

When we receive and accept your booking we will send you our travel confirmation, our invoice and debit payment from you.

We do not make any representation or warranty as to the availability of any package holiday, flight or Individual Components.

Payments

Please note for some Online or telephone bookings, full payment may be required IMMEDIATELY i.e. before you receive our confirmation invoice. If this applies you will be advised when the booking is made. If we accept your travel booking via instalment payments or other financial arrangement, it is very important that you pay balances by the due date shown on the confirmation invoice because failure to do so may lead to the cancellation of your holiday or flights and still leave you liable to pay cancellation charges. In addition, we reserve the right to levy late payment charges if applicable. Where an extra booking charge applies, this will be advised at the time of booking. All credit/charge card payments are subject to a surcharge which will be advised at the time of making the payment and any cheque payments require seven working days to clear. Until full payment has been received the price of your booking may be subject to increase as a result of fuel or other surcharges which may be imposed by suppliers or local Governments. Please note that we do not accept responsibility for cash sent by courier or post, even if sent by registered or recorded delivery post or any other special delivery. We reserve the right to pass on any charges incurred relating to card chargebacks.

Passport And Visa:

You are responsible for checking that you passport is valid and for securing the crrec Visa (if required).

You must ensure that you and the other named persons on the Confirmation have the correct Visa and health entry requirements for all countries to be visited including countries you may just be transiting through. This includes all stops made by the aircraft even if you do not leave the aircraft or airport. You and the other travellers in your party must each have a passport which is valid for six months after your intended date of return.

You must consult the relevant Embassy or Consulates for the Visa information. Requirements may change and you should check for up-to-date position in good time before booking/departure.

We accept no liability if you are refused entry onto the flight or into any country due to failure on your part to carry the correct passport, visa or other documents required by any airline, authority or country.

For travel to the USA.: Security and entry requirements change continuously Please enquire with the US authorities about the requirements which apply to you and your party before you book.

Your Behaviour

You accept responsibility to ensure that you & the members of your party do not behave in a way which causes offence to others or risks any loss or damage to property belonging to others.

If any such damage or loss is caused you must pay for such at the time direct to the accommodation owner or manager or other supplier. You agree to indemnify us against any claims (including legal costs) subsequently made against us as a result of your actions.

We expect all clients to have consideration for other people. If, in our reasonable opinion or in the opinion of any other persons in authority, you are behaving in such a way to cause or to be likely to cause distress, danger or annoyance to any third party or damage to property, we reserve the right to terminate your arrangements without notice. In this situation your total booking with us, including your return transportation arrangements, will immediately cease and we will not be responsible for paying any costs, expenses, refunds or compensation.You will have to make and pay for your return travel.

Force Majeure

We will not pay you compensation and will not be held responsible, if we have to cancel or change your travel arrangements in any way because of unusual or unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control. These can include war or threat of war, civil strife, industrial dispute including air traffic control disputes, terrorist activity and its consequences, natural and nuclear disaster, fire or adverse weather conditions, epidemics & pandemics, unavoidable technical problems with transport, closure or congestion of airports or ports.

You can check the current position of any country by telephoning the Foreign and Commonwealth Offices Travel Advice Unit on 0845 850 2829 or by visiting https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel -advice.

Flights And Flight Travel Documents

Please note the following:

That a flight described as "direct" will not necessarily be non-stop.

That an infant must be under two years of age on the date of their return flight to be entitled to the infant fare level

That a child must be under the age of twelve at the date of the return flight to be entitled to a Child fare

All departure/arrival times on your flight ticket are provided by the airlines concerned and are estimates only. They may change due to air traffic control restrictions, weather conditions, operational/maintenance requirements and the requirement for passengers to check in on time.

We are unable to make any special arrangements for you if you are delayed; these matters are at the sole discretion of the airline concerned.

if you do not use part of a flight which is split into different sectors and do not consult the carrier directly to advise them that you will not be travelling as booked, then any remaining sectors may be subject to cancellation without further notice to you. If this happens, you are responsible for any costs incurred.

In accordance with EU regulations we are required to bring to your attention the existence of a 'Community list', which contains details of air carriers that are subject to an operating ban within the EU Community. The Community list is available for inspection atIn accordance with EU regulations we are required to bring to your attention the existence of a 'Community list', which contains details of air carriers that are subject to an operating ban within the EU Community. The Community list is available for inspection athttp://ec.europa.eu/transport/air-ban

We reserve the right to change the airline that we have booked for you in the event that the airline is blacklisted under the EU regulations. Should there be any such changes to the actual airline after you have received your tickets, then this will be notified to you as soon as possible and in all cases at check-in or at the boarding gate.

Reconfirming All Flights

You must telephone the respective airline or ourselves (Tel : +44 (0) 14 7432 7995) at least 72 hours before the departure time shown on your ticket to confirm that there have been no flight detail changes. If we are aware of any flight amendments, we will notify you by email or letter or SMS to the contact information that you have provided to us however it is very important that you check with the airline when you are overseas again, at least 72 hours in advance. We will not be liable for any additional costs due to your failure to reconfirm flights nor of costs incurred due to airline rescheduling of your flights. Reconfirming your flight at least 72 hours before departure is a minimum requirement and an essential element of your travel arrangements.

Flight Delay

Unfortunately, delays sometimes occur. Depending on the length of the delay and surrounding circumstances, the airline concerned should provide refreshments when and where appropriate. Gravesend Travel and Tourism Ltd are not in a position to provide any assistance in the event of flight delay and cannot accept any liability except where expressly stated in these Booking Conditions.

Travel Documents - Checking And Despatch

We will send all of the travel documents to the address that you give us at the time of booking.

You must check that all travel documents issued are correct – that includes the spelling of the names which are given. If there are any errors you must tell us immediately and we will correct them (without charge if we have caused the error). Other charges incurred will be your responsibility.

Travel Documents will normally be dispatched 7 days before departure. For bookings made within 14 days of departure it may be necessary for you to collect your air tickets at the airport at an extra charge. Any other vouchers that are part of your arrangements will be emailed/posted/faxed to you.

In the event of ticket loss or delay, it will be your responsibility to pay additional expenses incurred by us to arrange and post duplicate tickets. Guaranteed next day delivery can be arranged at additional cost, which can be advised at time of booking.

LATE BOOKINGS may also require Special/Courier delivery of documents in which case we will tell you the charges at the time of booking.

Airline Ticket Refunds

Air tickets returned to us for a refund are subject to an administration charge of £60 per ticket, irrespective of the number of tickets returned and you will be required to pay a per ticket cancellation charge as imposed by the airline or the ticket supplier pursuant to their terms and conditions.

There is no automatic right to a refund and, when you return an air ticket to us, we will arrange for it to be presented to the respective airline or ticket supplier to assess eligibility for a possible refund in accordance with the relevant airline's or ticket suppliers’ terms and conditions.

We recommend that you return such air tickets to us by special delivery post as we do not accept responsibility for documents mislaid or lost by the Royal Mail.

If a recoverable air ticket refund is less than the above £60 per ticket administration charge, the ticket will be deemed to be fully non-refundable.

If a tax refund application is made by us at your request and on your behalf and the recoverable tax components for your ticket are less than the administration charge the ticket will be deemed to be fully non-refundable.

Refunds will not be paid to you until they have been received by us from the relevant airline or ticket supplier. In the case of airline ticket refunds please allow 10-12 weeks from the point the tickets are submitted for consideration to the airline to the date that we are able to advise you of the refund status.

Scheduled Airline Failure Administration Fee

We reserve the right to levy a Scheduled Airline Failure Administration fee to protect you if the airline, for which we have provided a ticket, fails and the ATOL provisions apply, we undertake to ensure that you will receive compensation for your loss to the extent referred to below.

In the event of a scheduled airline failure as a result of an insolvency or winding-up:

Prior to the startof your flight, all monies paid by you either as a deposit, or as the case may be, as the price for the scheduled airline ticket(s) (but not any other element of your holiday) will be refunded to you in full; or

After your flight has started: the sum equivalent to the price paid for the ticket(s) for such scheduled airline flights forming part of the flight (but not any other element of your holiday) as were cancelled as a direct result of the airline failure will be refunded to you in full; or

if the flight is curtailed forthwith upon the airline failure, the cost of direct return transportation to the United Kingdom to a similar standard to that originally booked as part of the flight, such return flight starting at the point of curtailment of the trip as the direct result of the airline failure.

As a fee for our administering both the claims and/or the repatriation of passengers we will levy a nominal administration charge for this service. This fee forms part of the cost of each airline ticket purchased from us and is not optional.

Flight Changes

Should your flight be cancelled by the airline, your rights and remedies will be governed by the airline's conditions of carriage. As a result you may be entitled to:

Carriage on another flight with the same airline without additional costs;

Re-routing to your destination with another carrier without additional costs;

Receiving a full refund; or

Some other right or remedy.

If a schedule change occurs to your itinerary prior to our receipt from you of the full price, or prior to the issue of your tickets (on either the outbound or return flight) we will do our best to notify you on behalf of the carrier. Should a schedule change occur to your itinerary after full balance/ticket issue, on either the outbound or inbound part of the itinerary, the relevant supplier's decision will be final and amendment charges may apply.

Changes By You

If you wish to change any item, we will try our best to accommodate the change. If successful, you will have to pay an Amendment Fee which will be notified at the time of change. Otherwise any changes come under the terms of the Cancellation.

CANCELLATION BY YOU:

Air Tickets

Airline tickets are non-refundable, non-changeable and non-re-routable unless we have advised otherwise. In respect of any alteration to an APEX or other special fare tickets, some suppliers (particularly airlines) may treat a name change as a cancellation and as such will not refund any monies.

Where an outbound portion of your flight coupon is not used the return sector will be automatically cancelled by the airline and no automatic right to a refund exists for such part-used tickets. All other partly used tickets are normally non-refundable. Flight cancellations made within 24 hours of departure are non-refundable.

Other Individual Components

For all other Individual Components (Hotels, Car Hire, Tours etc) then unless your confirmation invoice specifies different cancellation charges, the scale of charges below will apply:
On or between 29 to 56 days prior to departure – 50 percent of the cost
On or between 15 to 28 days prior to departure – 75 percent of the cost
Within 14 days of departure – 100 per cent
Failure to arrive or delayed arrival at the departure airport – 100 percent

Problems/Complaints

If you incur any problems during your trip, it is essential that you bring them to the attention of the supplier and to us or our agent or staff as soon as they occur to give us a chance to investigate and rectify.

If the problem cannot be rectified, you must notify us, in writing, within 28 days of your return.

Our Responsibility

As we act only as a booking agent for the third party suppliers of your Individual Components, we have no liability if they are deficient nor do we have any liability for loss, personal injury or death however incurred unless caused by our negligence.

Departure And Local Taxes

We can never guarantee that all departure or local and other taxes have been included in our invoice. In some cases those taxes must be paid by you locally to the Government of the country you are departing from and are non-refundable by us. If we are advised of the introduction of such taxes after we have confirmed your reservation, we will notify you of such charges by email, letter or SMS.

BOOKING CONDITIONS FOR PACKAGE HOLIDAYS

Your Financial Protection

We hold ATOL licence No: 10987 issued by the Civil Aviation Authority. When you buy an ATOL protected air holiday package or flight arranged by us you will receive a confirmation invoice confirming your arrangements and your protection under our ATOL licence number 10987. Full details of the protection can be obtained from the ATOL website (www.atol.org.uk). Not all holiday or travel services offered and sold by us are protected by the ATOL scheme. ATOL protection extends primarily to Customers who book and pay in the United Kingdom.

Package Holidays

We classify a package holiday as being a combination of at least two of the following a) transport b) accommodation c) another tourist service and which form a major part of your booking, and providing that those two or more components are sold to you at the same time at an inclusive price with full payment being made to Gravesend Travel and Tourism Ltd. Anything else (Flight arrangements only, air tickets and accommodation booked at different times, cruises or packages arranged by a third party tour operator where we act as their agents) constitutes other travel arrangements.

The price of package holidays that are arranged by us as the Operator may change after you have booked due to changes in fuel, airport taxes etc. In order to guarantee the price confirmed at the time of booking, you will be required to make full payment at the time of booking. Should Government action cause additional surcharges after you have paid your holiday balance, we reserve the right to pass these on.

Alterations By You

If you wish to alter your arrangements after your booking has been made, we will do our best to arrange this for you. Any request for changes must be made in writing by the person who made the booking. We will charge an amendment fee of £60.00 per person, and any other cost that is incurred in making the alteration. Scheduled airlines normally treat name changes as a cancellation and rebooking and this may incur a 100% cancellation charge in respect of the airfare. If after the commencement of a tour, you request any amendments to the agreed arrangements or accommodation, the Company and/or its agents will do their best to implement such amendments, but cannot guarantee that it will be possible. In the event of any amendment you will be liable for any cancellation charges and / or additional costs that may be incurred by the Company and/or its agents.

Transfer Of A Booking

If any person named on a Package Holiday reservation is prevented from travelling, we will agree to that person’s booking being transferred to another person who satisfies all the conditions applicable to the package, subject to both persons accepting liability for full payment of the holiday cost and any additional costs arising from the transfer and subject to acceptance by the service providers, if applicable. Where the transfer is made, Gravesend Travel and Tourism Ltd will levy an additional £100 per person administration charge. If Air Travel is involved, airlines will not normally permit name changes and cancellation charges will apply.

Alterations By Us

Most of these changes will be minor and we will advise you at the earliest possible date.. If we make a major change we will also endear your to advise you as soon as reasonably possible. If we make a major change to your holiday, we will inform you as soon as reasonably possible if there is time before your departure. You will have the choice of either accepting the amendment as notified, purchasing another holiday from us with the price difference payable/refundable as appropriate, or cancelling the arrangement(s) and receiving a full refund of all monies paid. In addition, you will receive the compensation listed below, except in cases of "force majeure".

Period before departure within which notice of major change is made to you Amount of compensation per person
More than 56 days Nil
Between 56 and 42 days £10 (Ten Pounds)
Between 41 and 28 days £20 (Twenty Pounds)
Between 27 and 15 days £30 (Thirty Pounds)
Less than 15 days £50 (Fifty Pounds)

The compensation that we offer does not exclude you from claiming more if you are entitled to do so. In accordance with EU regulations we are required to advise you of the actual air carrier operating your flight/connecting flight/transfer. We do this by listing carriers to be used or likely to be used on the relevant brochure pages and/or your holiday confirmation invoice. Any changes to the actual airline after you have received your tickets will be notified to you as soon as possible and in all cases at check-in or at the boarding gate. Such a change is deemed to be a minor change.

Cancellation By You

You may cancel your package holiday at any time providing that the cancellation is made by the person making the booking and is communicated to us in writing. As we incur costs when you cancel, we will retain your deposit and additional cancellation charges may apply. If the reason for cancellation is covered under the terms of an insurance policy you may be able to reclaim these charges.
The following level of charges will apply:
Cancellation charge More than 56 days Deposit only Between 28 and 56 days 60% of total holiday cost or full cost of deposit whichever is the higher Between 27 and 7 days 90% of total holiday cost Less than seven days 100% of total holiday cost.

Certain travel arrangements cannot be changed or cancelled without incurring a 100% cancellation charge. If this is the case, we will tell you before you cancel. We strongly recommend that you take out full insurance which will, in most cases, include cover against loss of deposit or cancellation fees

Note: If, some, but not all-party members, cancel the holiday or part of it, additional charges may be payable by the remaining members.

Cancellation By Us

We reserve the right to cancel your holiday for any reason. However we will not cancel your holiday less than 8 weeks prior to departure unless it is for a reason outside our control. If we have to cancel your holiday we will offer you:- alternative travel arrangements of equivalent or of very closely similar standard and price, if available travel arrangements of a lower standard and a refund of the difference in price; or a full refund of all monies paid.

Complaints

We pride ourselves on delivering the highest standard of customer service but If you have a complaint during your holiday, please bring it to the attention of our local Representative / Agent / and or the hotel as quickly as possible, so that they can attempt to rectify the matter. Should you not be able to resolve your complaint locally please write to us within 28 days of the end of your tour. Failure to bring a complaint to the attention of our local representative whilst on holiday will prejudice any future claim.

Jurisdiction

Your contract with Gravesend Travel and Tourism Ltd will be governed by English and Welsh law and any related disputes will be dealt with in the courts of England and Wales